Go over homework: “I am offering you this poem.”

List ALL of the similes and metaphors on the board.

What are the symbols you noticed in the poem? How do they create the overall message of the poem?

HANDOUT: THEME FOR ENGLISH B

Another element in poetry we want to watch for is a change or shift. Many poems have them, this one especially.

I’m going to read it out loud, and I want you to watch for SHIFTS, CONTRASTS (or JUXTAPOSITIONS).

Define each:

Shift—when the poem clearly begins heading in a different direction.

Contrasts—when you have two different things that are being compared, so we see one in a situation, then another similar, but in a different situation (also known as a JUXTAPOSITION). Mark these on your copies of the poem.

What is the purpose of this poem? Its meaning? What idea(s) does the author want his readers to take away from this poem? We call this the THEME.

Now how do these contrasts we just looked help illustrate that THEME?

HOMEWORK:

THE FISH—read and identify THREE images in the poem. An “image” is a description, usually visual but may often employ other senses (hearing, smell, touch/feel, etc.). These images may incorporate metaphors or similes in the descriptions.

1) Write down the line(s) of the image.

2) Then state why the speaker tells us these details. What idea about the fish is she trying to convey to us? What potentially deeper meaning does the image or metaphor tell us?

3) After you identify and explain three images, then make a claim about the THEME of the poem: what do you believe is the main idea, the main purpose—the entire reason why the author wrote this poem. What does she want you to take away from this poem?

EXAMPLE. List the line(s) of the image you’re describing:

He didn’t fight.
He hadn’t fought at all.
He hung a grunting weight,
battered and venerable
and homely.

(Explain why the speaker tells us these details.) These lines describe the fish as something unattractive—“battered” and “homely”–but also worth admiring or respecting, as the word “venerable” suggests. Strangely, the fish didn’t fight as fish usually do when they’ve been hooked. He just hangs heavily—“a grunting weight”—as if the fisherwoman wasn’t even worth bothering with, as if being caught was beneath his notice. These early lines establish that he’s definitely not your everyday fish.

Do the above three times, then tell me what you believe the theme of the poem is.

HOMEWORK is due BEFORE class tomorrow. Share with me on Google Docs. We’ll be discussing your findings in class.

*Remember the QUIZ ON THE FIRST 15 TERMS ON WEDNESDAY.